


Aftermath

by lanalucy



Series: The Healing Arts [5]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awkward Conversations, Cancer, Caretaking, Cross-Posted on LiveJournal, F/F, Implied Sexual Content, Sequel, Sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-25
Updated: 2014-01-25
Packaged: 2018-01-09 23:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1151958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanalucy/pseuds/lanalucy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The morning after You're the One that I Want (which is chapter three of Inspiration Day: Song Titles).</p><p>Thanks to newnumbertwo for the beta and encouragement.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aftermath

Laura opened her eyes. The wall in front of her was a little blurry, and she felt like crap. She remembered coming home from the treatment and completely losing it. On top of that, she’d been sick, barely managing to drive Kara away before she raced for the bathroom.

 _Kara!_ Gods. She’d been so hateful to Kara last night. Though Kara’d deny it until Tartarus froze over, she was so fragile. Laura just hoped that her behavior last night wouldn’t keep Kara from letting someone else in, being happy with someone else. She deserved better than Laura could give her.

All this raced through her mind as she was petting the arm around her waist. Her hand stilled. Why was there an arm around her waist? Kara groaned and mumbled in her sleep and Laura’s eyes filled with tears as she suddenly remembered Kara rushing in last night and holding Laura in her lap until she was done getting sick, then cleaning her up and tucking her into bed. How was she going to make her go away now? Could she convince Kara that she’d just eaten something that had disagreed with her?

Laura sniffed. Kara snuggled her nose into Laura’s back and grumped out, “Morning.” It was so perfectly Kara that Laura almost laughed. Gods, she’d miss Kara! But it would be better to miss her than to drag her through what the next few months would bring.  
\---  
Kara could feel Laura thinking, so she pretended to be just waking up. She’d watched Laura be sick last night, hoping that Laura would confide in her. In hindsight, something had been up from the moment Laura had opened the door the first time yesterday. She’d been pale, her face pinched. 

After she’d cleaned Laura up and put her to bed, Laura had fallen asleep immediately, another confirmation that something was wrong - it was clearly more than just some bad food. So she snooped, something she’d never done with Laura - a piece of trust no one else had ever gotten from her - hell, she’d never stuck around long enough to give that kind of trust to anyone. Laura’s bank showed a dozen doctor copays in the last three weeks, along with a sizable payment to a “Colonial Recovery.”

When she looked it up online, the first place her mind had gone was to the cancer that had killed her mother. She hadn’t even known her mother was sick until she’d visited her once out of the blue and found the letter on the dining room table - along with an ashtray overflowing with cigarettes. 

_Shit!_ She needed to keep her focus so Laura couldn’t derail her. If Laura was sick, Kara wasn’t going anywhere. 

She stretched a little more, tried to say “Morning,” and buried her nose in Laura’s back. Gods, she smelled good. She pulled Laura’s hair aside and kissed the back of her neck. “You want coffee or tea this morning?” She rolled over to get out of bed.

“What are you doing here, Kara? I thought I told you to go away.”

“You did. I never did follow directions very well.” She grabbed the sweats she’d shucked the night before and slipped them on as she stood. “So? Coffee or tea?”

“Tea, please.”

She started the coffeepot, put the kettle on for Laura’s tea, and rummaged for something to eat - at least an apple or something. She’d need to get some groceries later.

She went back to the bedroom carrying a bed-tray with Laura’s tea, her coffee, and some toast and applesauce. Both were easy foods, and would hopefully be things Laura could eat without affecting her stomach too much.

She put the tray down over Laura’s knees, bent to kiss her gently, and picked up her coffee cup. “So, want to tell me what’s wrong?”

Kara was impressed; Laura held it together - showed no sign of being startled by Kara’s question. She took a slow and careful sip of her tea.

Kara leaned casually against the bathroom door jamb. “I made you toast and found some applesauce. Hope you can eat one of those. You’ll need something in your stomach if last night is anything to go by.” She let Laura sip her tea in silence for a few minutes, then straightened away from the door abruptly. “What’s wrong, Laura? And don’t tell me ‘nothing’ because I already know it’s not true.”

“I -” Laura’s face was stricken. “Why did you come back?”

Kara sat on the edge of the bed, carefully avoiding touching Laura’s legs under the blanket. “I almost didn’t. I went someplace to have a drink or twelve, but then got to thinking. You’ve been so patient with me. You know nearly all my triggers now. I had to work it out in my head, but you used my mom on me last night, and I know you’d never do that without thinking about it. And if you’d thought about it, you’d have a reason for it. You were _trying_ to drive me away. Once I realized that, I had to come back. Now. Tell me what’s wrong, Laura Roslin.”

She thought she was ready for anything, but hearing Laura actually say, “I have cancer,” threw her. She had to dig her nails into her palm to keep from screaming.

She nodded stiffly. “Okay. How are we going to handle it, Laura?” Laura opened her mouth to answer, and Kara added, “And if you try to tell me _we_ aren’t, that you are going to handle it on your own, I might have to spank you later.”

She watched the flush rise on Laura’s cheeks. Laura had taken her ridiculous teacher discipline fantasy and run with it one night a couple of months ago. She had never mentioned that she might want Kara to spank her. Well now. Kara smirked. Something to look forward to. 

Laura began describing her diagnosis and the treatment plan she and her doctor had worked out. She listened carefully, making lists in her head as needed. She’d need to do some more research, maybe talk to Laura’s doctor herself.

She nodded as Laura finished. “Okay. We’ll need to find foods you find appetizing, easy things to fix when you’re tired in case I’m not here for some reason. So grocery shopping is something I can definitely do. I’ll come to your appointments with you." Laura protested, and Kara pushed. “You came to my last five doctor visits and one of my PT sessions. I’m coming with you. You try to keep me away, and I’ll just show up on my own, Laura. We’re in this together.”

Laura’s head dropped and when she saw a couple of tears fall into Laura’s cup, she didn’t know what to do, so she sat there waiting. Laura straightened her shoulders and raised her head and said, “It’s going to be hard, Kara. I’m not going to be able to work much. The treatment is vile and will make me ten times sicker than I was last night before it’s done. Then depending on the success of the treatment, they’ll still have to operate to remove whatever’s left. It’s going to be a rough road. I know it’s how your mother died, Kara. I don’t want to do that to you again.”

Kara schooled her features. “My mother died because she gave up. Never stopped smoking. Let the cancer spread. Didn’t give a shit about taking care of herself or how I was going to feel after she was gone. You are not my mother, and you’ve proven it a dozen times or more over the last six months. This will be nothing like what my mother did, and you’re going to have me besides. Cancer can’t beat the two of us if we stick together.”

Laura put her tea down on the tray and pushed it away with a sigh. “Okay. Come back to bed? Maybe we could start the day over?”

Kara took the tray to the kitchen, made a note that Laura had at least tried the applesauce, and went back to the bedroom. She crawled in under the covers and Laura snuggled into her chest, putting her cold hand under the back of Kara’s tank. 

“Mmm. You feel good. You’re nice and warm.”

Kara held her tighter, one arm around Laura’s shoulders, one in her hair. She kissed the top of Laura’s head, humming softly under her breath. She watched Laura sleep for hours, her mind racing through all the things she’d need to learn and be and do to get Laura through this.


End file.
